Thread: Armor up!
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Old 12-20-2022, 09:39 PM   #10
David Bofinger
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Sydney, Australia
Default Re: Armor up!

Quote:
Originally Posted by hcobb View Post
Chain is about the only scalable armor material, within limits.
Armour scaled by coverage, not thickness. People would preferentially armour those places which were:
  • easiest to protect (not e.g. joints and armpits),
  • most likely to cause death if injured (e.g. torso, head)
  • most likely to be hit (e.g. lower weapon arm)
  • least protected by shields (e.g. shins)
  • least inconvenient (e.g. torso, not e.g. limbs)

Compare a lorica segmentata &c with Renaissance plate: the most important places are covered in each case and the thickness of metal probably isn't that different but the Roman misses out on protection for his arms and lower thighs, and his face is a lot more open.

It's not perfect either but I think modelling the armour spectrum in terms of coverage is more accurate than doing it in terms of material.
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